BURTON, Mich. — When the horror of yesterday’s mass shooting spread across the news, Thomas Sanford’s neighbors recognized the man in the photo, and they recognized his truck adorned with American flags, too.
Watch Ross Jones' video report:
Family members were seen coming and going all day Monday at Sanford's home. To a person, his neighbors told FOX 13 News affiliate WXYZ that Sanford was reclusive. Two said that, during the winter, he would plow their driveways free of charge. Another knew that Sanford loved to hunt, but everyone agreed that he lived an isolated life.
As one neighbor said off camera: “He was not someone you could get to know.”
One man who encountered Sanford just recently was a candidate running for city council here in Burton. Kris Johns was going door to door last week, talking to potential voters when he says he came into contact with Sanford, who was outside in his driveway.
He said the two spoke for about 20 minutes. The tone was pleasant, but the content was unforgettable and would foreshadow Sunday’s horrific mass shooting.
"He then shared about himself, that he was a Marine, went to Iraq, experienced some drug addiction issues," John said.
"He asked about my position about guns, I said I support the Second Amendment, which I believe was a satisfactory answer. The very next question almost was: What do you know about Mormons?" Johns said.
"For him to just have the very pointed and direct questions about the Church of Latter-day Saints, that’s really what shook me. Religion is not a common topic, let alone the Church of Latter-day Saints," Johns continued. "I will never forget this interaction. Even outside of what happened—God forbid on Sunday morning—he was a person who was unforgettable."
Johns says the conversation was so jarring, he actually sent a voice memo about it to a friend in the Mormon church. He shared it with us today.
"He went on a tirade about the Church of Latter-day Saints. It was something else," the message says.
"He said, at the end, Mormons are the anti-Christ. I mean, that is just something I will never forget," Johns told us today.
Prior to Sunday, Sanford was largely not on the radar of police. In Burton, where he lives, Chief Brian Ross said that the department had never received a call to Sanford's house or taken in calls about him.
In 2011, records show that Sanford was arrested for burglary; however, there’s no indication that he was ever charged.
